A class-action lawsuit against Airbus and Northrop Grumman has been filed in the US by attorneys acting on behalf of passengers and crew injured in a serious incident involving a Qantas Airbus A330-300 in 2008.

The lawsuit is being led by a US law firm following contact from Australian law firms which will represent passengers and crew injured when A330 VH-QPA plunged over 1000ft in two uncommanded dives while on a flight from Singapore to Perth on October 7 2008, forcing the crew to make a mayday call and an emergency landing at Learmonth. The latest interim report from the ATSB suggests that the uncommanded dives may have been caused by erroneous data inputs from a faulty air data inertial reference unit (ADIRU), which was manufactured by Northrop Grumman.

Airbus has already moved an application to have the case heard in Australia rather than the US, with some commentators noting that Australian laws would not allow people to claim the same level of compensation as in the US. Currently, it appears that the trial will be heard in the US.

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